Chapter 10 of The Practice of Contemplative Photography,(paid link), by Andy Karr and Michael Wood, explains the process of discernment; that time between experiencing a flash of perception and actually taking the shot.
Discernment is defined by Merriam-Webster as “the quality of being able to grasp and comprehend what is obscure.” For me, discernment in contemplative photography, is about seeing the essence of our perception. This is the hardest part of the practice because conceptual thinking can quickly cover up the original flash, making it impossible to photograph what was actually experienced.
The most important part of this stage is to resist immediately picking up your camera. It is important to learn how to stay with the flash of perception.
Look Further
Stay where you are. Don’t rush to shoot. Observe any thoughts that appear, but let them go.
Ask yourself, what stopped you? Sometimes it’s clear and sometimes it’s not. You can’t quite put your finger on it. Keep looking in a relaxed way, without grasping for the answer.
Was it color? Was it texture? Was it the light? Was it space? These are the qualities of the flash, which we discussed in a previous post.
Once the quality is determined, move on to the boundaries of the perception. What is included? What is not? Here is my experience with the boundaries of a perception.
Look Deeply
The authors outline exercises in looking deeply and in a relaxed way. When I did these exercises, this is what I experienced. I was drawn to the shadows on the stone wall of my house. I often notice the shadows of trees on walls, but this time it was lawn sculptures. It was the strong quality of light that drew me in. When I looked further, I didn’t see the outline of the sculptures anymore, but rather the abstract nature of the shadows on the stone wall. The boundaries were determined so that the abstractness would be apparent and so the shadows of the stones would blend right in with the shadows of the sculptures.
Learn to apply effort to discernment like a skillful violinist tuning his instrument; not too tight and not too loose.
Hi Kim. I will be starting this book in the next several weeks. I’m just getting started with Freeman Patterson’s ‘…and the Art of Seeing’ A re-read, with actually doing the exercises he suggests.
By the way, I met one of my step-daughter’s friends, Chen-Hsuan, at the baby we gave her. She is into photography and just bought a new DSLR. I told her about the retreat and the book (contemplative photog). Here’s from the e-mail she sent me the next day: “I’m interested in going to the retreat with you. I will try to get those days off from work before I sign up for it.
Thanks for letting me know about the retreat and the contemplative photography book. Actually I already placed an order of it on Amazon :)”.
We will travel together.
Have a wonderful weekend!
That’s wonderful, Laurie. Will make it extra fun for you. Thanks for letting me know.